Archived: Deer Lodge

Updated 2 November 2019

The inspection

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team

This inspection was carried out by one inspector.

Service and service type

Deer Lodge is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

What we did before the inspection

Before the inspection we looked at all the information we had about the service. This information included statutory notifications that the provider had sent to CQC. A notification is information about important events which the service is required to send us by law. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection-

We spoke with eight people who used the service about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with six members of staff including the registered manager, the senior care worker, the cook and care workers.

We reviewed a range of records. This included three people’s care records and multiple medication records. We looked at two staff files, of staff recently recruited. A variety of records relating to the management of the service.

Updated 2 November 2019

About the service

Deer Lodge is a residential care home providing accommodation and personal care to 14 older people, some who had dementia, at the time of the inspection. The service can support up to 14 people. The home accommodates people over two floors, with common lounges and garden.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

At our last inspection we found the current management processes did not enable staff to receive sufficient training for their roles, that people did not receive activities of their choice, there were poor IT systems in place, quality assurance checks did not look to develop the service and senior staff did not have clearly defined roles.

At this inspection we found the provider had taken positive steps to develop staff skills and personal development, introduced more activities, upgrade their IT systems and had effective quality assurance systems.

People we spoke with were happy with the care they received and with the staff who assisted them. People were protected from avoidable harm, discrimination and abuse. Appropriate staff recruitment checks were made. Procedures were in place to reduce the risk of the spread of infection. Medicines were administered, stored and disposed of safely. Risks in the environment were well managed, which helped to ensure the premises were safe.

Staff were suitably trained and supported. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice. People were supported to maintain a healthy balanced diet and to stay healthy, with access to health care services as and when required.

People received support from staff who were kind and compassionate. Staff treated people with dignity and respect and ensured people's privacy was always maintained.

The provider was meeting the Accessible Information Standard for communication. The provider had effective systems in place to deal with concerns and complaints and to assess and monitor the quality of the service people received.

The service had a registered manager who we found to be open and transparent. They were working in partnership with other health and social care professionals and agencies to plan and deliver an effective service that met the needs of the people they supported.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection and update

The last rating for this service was Requires Improvement (published 18 September 2018) and there was one breach of regulations. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve. At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating and to follow up on action we told the provider to take at the last inspection.

Follow up:

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.